View full sizeThe city has loosened the restrictions with regard to developing a 46-acre portion (outlined in red) of the former Farm Colony in Sea View.

The city's Economic Development Corporation is trying once again to entice developers to consider the old Farm Colony in Sea View -- this time hoping a more open-ended approach will lure them in.

"This is no-commitments," said City Councilman James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn), who has long advocated development of the site. "This is just to measure, engage, and see if anyone has any creative ideas."

The EDC is issuing a "request for expression of interest" for the 46-acre site on Brielle Avenue today. The agency is looking for "creative proposals that will consider a broad range of possible uses for the site, in order to transform the area in a way that will complement and enhance the surrounding community."

Industrial development is off-limits, but this time the request allows for a wider array of proposals, including residential, commercial, cultural and educational developments.

"This long-vacant property possesses great potential, and any future redevelopment will significantly benefit the surrounding community and all of Staten Island," EDC President Seth W. Pinsky said in a statement. "We are pleased to be working with Councilmember Oddo on this important project, and look forward to finding creative solutions that will both enhance quality of life and lead to future economic growth."

Most recently the EDC sought proposals for a post-secondary school at the site, as part of a city campaign to locate a world-class applied sciences school here. No one expressed interest in the site, and Roosevelt Island was ultimately chosen for that project.

Oddo recently floated the site as a good spot for one of the mayor's proposed Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (P-TECH).

"I clearly still have my preferences, what I have always envisioned at this location -- senior residences, some sort of educational facility, maybe some sort of recreational, some fields," Oddo said.

'STIR INTEREST'

But after trying unsuccessfully to lure developers since the start of his political career, Oddo said this open-ended call for ideas was a way to stir interest. It opens the possibility of "catching lightning in a bottle" with a project that would be a good fit and not a burden on the borough, he said.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission was brought in early in the process of writing the request, Oddo said, to make sure they were comfortable with development of the historic site.

The site includes 11 historic buildings, and the EDC will "view favorably proposals that include stabilization or restoration of the site's historic assets," along with those that respect the surrounding Staten Island Greenbelt, according to a release.

All work, including demolition of any buildings, will require approval of the city Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Oddo called this request for interest a "last gasp for these buildings," saying many had already "died as a result of neglect from the city government." But there are a few he hoped could still be salvaged.

There are some things he wouldn't like to see in the space, including a "new neighborhood" occupying the site, he said. But he said the strategy was to hear the proposals, and then "make some hard decisions after that." That could include deciding not to develop the property.

"Maybe we're just better off at this point leaving the whole thing green," he said. "These buildings, as historic as they are, were essentially left to die by decisions made in the 1970s and ¤'80s."

In addition to being more open-ended, the request also allows developers to work on only a portion of the site, if they are not interested in all 46 acres.

The farm colony -- which allowed those who could not support themselves to live there in exchange for labor -- closed in 1975.

To obtain a copy of the request, visit: www.nycedc.com/rfp. Responses are due by May 31, 2012.